Shades of the Journey
by Guy N. Cognito
Summary: A weird little story idea that's been stuck in my mind recently. I don't know if it came out okay or if it's even original. It's about Pokemon existing in the real world and some other vague nonsense. I hope you at least find it a decent waste of time.


Hello there! Welcome to the story of the Poké-Men. My name is Aritza. I was once a well respected professor at a prestigious university, but those days are over. Now I'm just a tired, old man. This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon. Although you may not be aware of their existence, somehow these creatures have managed to spread themselves far and wide. For now they remain unknown except for a few select people but soon they will become the center of a major crisis.

But I digress...

First, let me tell you about one of the original people to become involved in the soon to be legendary story of the Poké-Men. He is a young man named Monty Smith who has always wished for the dreamlike adventure he is about to undertake.

On August 24, 1986, at approximately nine o'clock in the morning, Martha Smith gave birth to a son. She and her husband Jonathan decided to name the boy Montgomery. They would call him Monty most of his life, except when he was in trouble and they would use his full name.

The Smiths lived in a small suburb of the city of New Orleans. By the time Monty Smith graduated high school in 2004 he had made quite a name for himself. Not only was he handsome and athletic, Monty Smith was the cliche famous starting quarterback of his high school team. They went undefeated all four years he was a member. Every girl in the school wanted to be with him (as well as some boys).

However, Monty was never very romantic. In fact, he preferred solitude because in addition to sports Monty Smith excelled in most areas of academic study. He graduated with multiple honors and was accepted into such prestigious institutions as Harvard, MIT, and Oxford. He would receive a full ride to any university. It was commonly assumed he would become a great scientist and save the world.

So what did the great Montgomery "Monty" Smith do with his life? He became a photographer. He started a small business that photographed and filmed anything. He never made a great deal of money, and never even moved out of his parents house. His two closest friends strongly objected to his choice. Both of them wanted him to go to college, but he adamantly refused. And so, the great Monty Smith resigned to mediocrity and was never heard from again.

Nobody ever knew the secret desires of Monty Smith. Adventure, excitement, and truly outlandish things where what Monty Smith craved. No career choice available seemed to offer such fantastic opportunities to him. There was nothing left to really explore, and nothing new was very intriguing.

For eight years no one knew what happened to Monty Smith except those who were close to him. His sister had gone off to college already, and after a few years his parents moved away to Florida. His friend Max joined the Marine Corps and his other friend Leonard went to every famous university he could. Everyone had found their place except Monty Smith.

But now, on the eve of his twenty-sixth birthday, Monty Smith will be launched into a wild and exciting adventure. Unfortunately it will be short-lived because at midnight Monty Smith will die.

August 23, 2012; 06:57AM CDT;  
Time Until Death: 18 Hours, 3 Minutes

Monty is asleep. He stayed up late last night watching talk shows and infomercials, allowing the warming glow of the television to lull him into sleep. But now there is just some made-for-TV movie on, with four boys walking down some railroad tracks while a narrator explains who they are.

A quick look around would reveal all there was to Monty's life: nothing. His bedroom is very spartan. The walls are a dull color, the floor is a matching carpet, even the lights are just two bulbs in the ceiling. There is a very plain bed. There is an old and worn television. There is a chair that swivels. There is a computer that hums loudly standing on a desk. There is a bookshelf with a few books and two cameras on it.

Everything Monty had ever cared about is in this room, and that wasn't very much. His most prized possession: a Super Nintendo given to him by his older sister. When she got a newer console, she abandoned the old one to Monty. He loved the Super Nintendo. Everything about it was amazing. His favorite game was _The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past_. It had everything anyone could want in a game: puzzle solving, heroic fantasy, diabolical villains; all the stuff that legends are made of.

***beep* *beep* *beep* *beep***

"Nngh..." said Monty as he attacked the alarm clock. "Snooze... need more snooze..." The alarm stopped and Monty turned over and resumed his sleeping. Unfortunately, he forgot that he set the snooze alarm to go off after only a minute. Unwillingly, Monty Smith got out of bed and ready for his day. He was to film and photograph a wedding and the reception thereafter. It was simple and he got free food and drinks. Nothing beats free food.

While eating his favorite cereal, Monty checked on various things such as his e-mail and voice mail. The only message was from his mother who said, "Monty, your birthday is coming up. I know you probably want to celebrate with your friends but could you please call your father and me. We get worried sometimes, you cooped up in that old house. You're supposed to _leave_ home someday and get your own house. Oh well. Have a happy birthday."

As Monty left his house, the dog across the street began to bark at him. And of course, the dog next door had to bark too. Every time Monty passed by the dog would bark at him and every time any dog within earshot would bark too. This was one of the reasons Monty took pride in owning a cat.

As he got on his shiny, red bicycle, Monty tightened the straps on his backpack. Several thousand dollars worth of film equipment was stored in it and Monty had no intention of damaging the backpack or the contents thereof.

As he rode down the street Monty mostly ignored everything around him that wasn't moving. If he had known this would be his last day alive, he probably would have taken more time to reflect on his past. He had lived on this street his whole life. This was where his father taught him how to ride a bike. Monty was so scared of falling down but his father promised not to let go. Then, when Monty realized he was riding on his own, actually riding a bicycle with no help at all, was probably the proudest moment of his childhood.

Not only was this street where he learned to ride a bike, but this was where he first fell in love. At the age of five, underneath the willow tree at the end of the street Monty met a girl. She was the most beautiful girl Monty had ever seen. They spent the whole afternoon together underneath the willow tree and even, though no one saw it, shared a kiss.

Monty did not consider either memory or any of another hundred as he rode all the way to the church. He did not even consider his two best friends or all the great times they shared. Twenty-six years of memories, of friends and family, of television and school, and all Monty Smith could think about was cinnamon rolls. A can of cinnamon rolls that was sitting in his refrigerator waiting for him to come home.

August 23, 2012; 11:23AM CDT;  
Time Until Death: 12 Hours, 37 Minutes

A beautiful, humongous chandelier illuminated the spacious ballroom. A large dance floor was in the middle, surrounded on four sides by round tables. There were large windows with a combination of silk and velvet curtains. On one end was a balcony overlooking the whole room. Two golden, spiral staircases framed the bar below the balcony and allowed the bride and groom to meet each other at the top.

Monty had set up video cameras and still cameras at key points and was controlling them from a tablet PC which every drunken wedding guest called really incredible technology even though it had been around for several years. Monty told everyone this in a condescending way but secretly he thought it was "totally cool".

The wedding had gone smoothly, both for the couple and for Monty, and the reception was going just as well. Monty was at the bar drinking root beer because he did not like alcohol when he was approached by a mildly drunken old man. Monty recognized the man as the father of the bride, or at least the man who gave away the bride. At this moment, Monty realized he did not remember the bride's maiden name or her new one.

"It's always the same... damned businessmen..." said the man.

"Excuse me," Monty started while checking that no one was around, "but what?"

"My granddaughter, an emi- eminent medical resear- searcher," said the man while hiccuping, "has just married an corp- corporate exec- egsek- "

"Corporate executive?"

"Yes."

After Monty said, "You're worried your granddaughter's career is over?" the man turned to face him. He looked very young compared to how old he really must be. His hair was silvery-gray, but his eyebrows were jet black. The angle of his eyebrows along with the wrinkles around his eyes caused him to look very angry. Not to mention he was angry at his granddaughter.

The man looked right at Monty and said, "Of course I am! This Higgins man will want her to 'settle down' and other such nonsense."

"He does look like that kind of guy. An arrogant bastard."

"Right, arrogant bastard. I told her not to marry him, that it would end badly. But no, she 'had to go with her heart' and now probably get divorced."

"Kids huh? What are you going to do?"

"Who are you?"

"Me? The photographer."

"Good. Listen, don't tell the family I said any of this. They might not care for it."

"Your secret is safe with me, mister."

"Hm? Mister? Oh, you wouldn't know. I haven't been called mister in a long time."

"Well, what are you?"

"Well people call me, ah, it doesn't matter now. I am retired. I got too old to keep up in the field and couldn't follow my dreams. I like the sound of mister. It's nice."

"I'm just glad I could help with your problem."

Suddenly, a girl about Monty's age arrived. "Grandpa," she began, "what are you saying to this guy?"

"Rubbish, absolute rubbish," the old man said.

The girl's brown hair rested on her shoulders. Her eyes, when Monty looked into them, seemed to go on forever. She told Monty, "I'm sorry for whatever he said."

"Uh," Monty started still lost in the girls eyes. "Yeah, no problem."

"Now this guy," the old man said, "is a guy your sister could marry. Smart guy."

"Sure thing, gramps," the girl responded. "I'm tired of waiting, let's just go home, huh? Party's pretty much over now."

Monty noticed her struggling and offered to help carry the old man out. "So I gathered that you are related with the gentleman between us."

"Yeah, he's my grandfather." Monty now saw the girl below the eyes. She was, to Monty, the most beautiful girl he ever saw. She was wearing a purple dress that ended at the floor. She had two bracelets, one on each wrist.

"So, if he's your grandfather..." Monty started.

"Then the bride is my older sister, yes. Sadly, she did not want me as one of her maids," she said sarcastically, "I know you understand, etc. I really don't care either way."

"Wait, your sister got married? When?" Monty exclaimed.

She giggled, and the old man said, "That was stupid, boy."

"Gramps, why would you interrupt us?" the girl said, "Just ignore him." The old man jerked away from them so suddenly that Monty fell on his side. The old man walked off in a huff and the girl turned to Monty and to help him up. "Are you all right?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," Monty said while standing up. "I get knocked down all the time."

"By who?" she asked.

"You know, your grandfather, etc."

"That's not a very big list."

"No, it isn't. But when in Rome, do as the Romans, etc."

"I don't think that expression applies here."

"I still don't know how to use it properly."

"You'll get it one day. Like the time I stole these maps from my sister. I was wearing an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time."

"Of course."

"Well, I thought they were maps but they turned out to be diagrams of the human cardiovascular system. She charged me a nickel fine for stealing when I brought 'em back."

"And back in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em."

"Yep, 'Give me five bees for a quarter,' you'd say, which was the style at the time."

There was a slight pause before they simultaneously said, "Curiouser and curiouser," followed by a moment of intense giggling.

"So, what's your name?" Monty asked, deciding this was as good a time as any, "I'm Monty."

"Short for something?" she asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Well then, most people call me Ginny."

"Short for something?"

"Not what you would think."

The old man turned around and said, "Genevieve! Are we going or not?"

Monty looked Ginny in the eyes once more and said, "I'm going to go with Genevieve on this one."

Ginny sighed and handed Monty a piece of paper with a seven digit number on it. "You've got my number."

"I'm gonna make you mine."

She smiled at his joke and left with her grandfather. Monty could not place it, but she was something special. Of all the girls in school that tried to sway Monty, none of them had that special quality this girl had.

August 23, 2012; 02:46PM CDT;  
Time Until Death: 9 Hours, 14 Minutes

Between the ballroom and Monty's house were a considerable number of warehouses. Fortunately, lunch time was over and very few people were on the road. Monty rode up the empty side streets and found his way to an old shortcut down some unused railroad tracks. The tracks cut through the warehouses every other road and where simple enough to follow out. Also, most of the time the tracks were behind grass covered fences so no one ever saw you coming by; this simple fact was beneficial to Monty as he did not like to be seen.

While riding past an abandoned warehouse, Monty felt what he could only describe as an unusual presence, a feeling that something was moving off in the distance. His curiosity had reached an all-time high so Monty decided to stop and search the area. When he turned toward the old GeneSys warehouse he felt a strange chill. Monty wondered what the company GeneSys did and what they could have left behind in a warehouse. However, the answers were not forthcoming and Monty was inexplicably drawn into the derelict building.

Part of the fence was damaged and rolled back. It appeared as if teenagers had been wandering in and out of the area. The building was four stories tall and likely made a nice hangout for young kids with cans of spray paint. As Monty crossed the cracked concrete the eerie chill became much more intense. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks, but it almost seemed as if the weeds growing out of the cracks were growing away from the GeneSys building. This did not assuage Monty in any way, nor would the idea leave his mind now that he had thought it.

As Monty crossed the threshold into the building, the eerie chill seemed to subside. Not like he had passed the source, but like it was trying to conceal itself. This line of thought made Monty quiver. Whatever was generating these ominous feelings wanted to be alone and now Monty could not help himself but discover it.

Monty soon discovered the source of the chill and he thought it was strangely anticlimactic. A small, wounded animal that looked almost like a fox. On closer inspection the creature yielded more exciting results: it was no ordinary animal. Monty recognized it as an Abra, one of the 151 original species, from the Pokémon video games he played as a kid. This instantly raised the question of how a creature like this could exist. Thousands of questions and possible answers flooded Monty's mind and he did not notice the Abra standing up to face him until it was too late.

The Abra, possessing a small array of psychic abilities, began to probe Monty's mind. Frozen during the process, Monty was unable to resist drawing up memories he had ignored for years. Emotional and physical pain he had long repressed arrived at the front of his chain of thought. The time he broke his arm, the girl that broke his heart, the disappointment in his parents eyes when he told them he wasn't going to college. The Abra did not watch these memories for long but Monty would dwell on them, at least for the rest of the day.

After it was done, the Abra seemed satisfied with Monty. Monty realized it was only trying to find out what kind of person he was and whether or not to trust him. Then, Monty received images of a laboratory and feelings of pain. At first he resisted, but he realized it was telling him its story. The Abra was created in a genetics lab by scientists with mysterious purposes. One scientist seemed to stand out, a woman with very long hair, but the image was not clear enough to see her face. After being examined by medical doctors, the Abra was subjected to various tests and experiments. The early tests were simple and easy but the later experiments were harsh and painful. The Abra resolved to break free from the lab and eventually did.

Monty was now getting the distinct impression that this Abra was female. He could not explain how he knew, but it was a she. Her story become happier as she hid across the world while recovering. Then, she decided to return to the lab to free any others that might be trapped. Unfortunately, this building was that lab and as previously mentioned is now derelict. So the Abra has remained here attempting to divine where the lab is now and what it is doing.

Released from the mental hold he was under, Monty collapsed to the ground. Upon standing, he noticed that the Abra had gone to sleep while sitting up. He tried to remember his old Pokémon games but still couldn't get over the absurdity of the whole situation. He couldn't accept anything that had just happened so he focused on GeneSys. That was the name on the building but what did he know about the company?

In the early nineties, the GeneSys compound was built here. It was more than one building and spread across most of the area. It was a big thing back then because they were supposedly working on a cure for cancer and were very close. Of course, that never happened. Around the turn of the millennium, half of the compound closed up and was sold off to other companies. Not long after that, all that was left of GeneSys was this warehouse, which was abandoned about seven years later. So, if GeneSys wasn't working on a cure for cancer, was it possible they tried and succeeded at creating a Pokémon?

Normally, Monty wouldn't believe such a thing possible, but the Abra sitting in front of him convinced him otherwise. He began to rummage through the piles of debris, but debris was all he could find. The questions in Monty's head began to organize and prioritize themselves, as these things usually do to Monty. The foremost question in his mind was: for what purpose? If GeneSys did create Pokémon, why not share them with the world? The commercial opportunity was too good to just pass up. And if the Pokémon weren't created to make money, then why bother attempting such a feat? What purpose would wasting the enormous amount of time and money on creating Pokémon serve?

But! What if they already existed? If Pokémon did exist but were kept secret, then GeneSys would certainly keep the acquisition of one a secret. But the very idea that Pokémon exist is preposterous. They are pieces of fiction currently with one, _single_ exception. Pokémon cannot have existed without anyone noticing. Then again, Japan does have a lot of forests. But if GeneSys did create this Abra, what else came out of that lab? More Abras, other Pokémon, or perhaps other fictional creatures? But then, we are brought back to the first question: for what purpose?

After about an hour of deep thought and searching the building for clues, Monty was no closer to any real answers to these or the hundred more questions. So he decided to take the Abra home with him. What this would accomplish towards discovering the answers Monty didn't know but he was certain he could think better in the comfort of his own home rather than a dingy warehouse.

August 23, 2012; 07:30PM CDT;  
Time Until Death: 4 Hours, 30 Minutes

Getting the Abra to his house was simpler than Monty anticipated but finding information was not. After searching the Internet for hours Monty had deemed it useless. There were almost no records of GeneSys at all. What little information there was concerned the website's registration and that was to the company warehouse Monty just came from. The website itself hadn't been updated in so long it was still using "really safe" colors.

"So what now?" Monty asked the Abra. She was asleep but probably still aware of everything around her. Monty went and checked the Pokédex, a device in the Pokémon video games that records data on Pokémon similar to an encyclopedia. Everything from height and weight to favorite foods and hobbies. Many Pokémon related websites offer the information online because it is sometimes difficult to obtain in the video game.

According to the Pokédex, Abra is known to sleep eighteen hours a day. While asleep Abra can sense danger telepathically and teleport to safety. Of course, such a description may not apply to a living creature but if it were made in a lab, the makers would probably stick to the in-game description as much as possible.

***pop***

Monty was startled by the sudden noise. He then realized that the Abra was gone. "Abra?" Monty called out. The sound of his voice caused a strange thump from the floor above. _If it teleported,_ Monty thought, _then danger must be near._

Monty quietly got out of his chair and moved to the next room where the lights were turned off. He could just barely make out the sounds of footsteps moving across the second floor. Someone was in the house who was not supposed to be!

Quickly and quietly, Monty made his way towards the phone. The only working one Monty left in the house was in the kitchen, which was across the brightly lit hall from Monty and, unfortunately, the bandit had made it down the stairs and came into the hall just before Monty crossed into his line of sight. Monty was very nervous at this point. Hiding in the darkened den, Monty had three exits. First, out into the hallway straight into the bandit's arms. Second, back into the office which the bandit could see clearly. Third, out the den's windows which make a loud noise when opened or closed. So, Monty improvised a fourth option: attack the bandit with the fire poker. A solid plan for anyone in a similar predicament.

As Monty held the poker ready to strike, he listened for footsteps and tried to think of a way to distract the bandit. Suddenly, there was another pop, and Abra was sitting in the hallway. "What are you doing there little kitty?" the gruff sounding bandit said, "Playing games with old Jasper, huh?" As Jasper went to grab Abra she popped out. At the same time, Monty jumped and swung which allowed him to hit rather forcefully and knock the bandit unconscious. Using some duct tape, Monty secured Jasper to a chair. After he made sure it would be difficult for Jasper to escape, Abra popped back in.

"Thanks," Monty said. All Abra did was hum slightly. What that meant Monty couldn't tell but he assumed it was good.

***knock* *knock* *knock***

Monty jumped at the sound but calmed down and answered the door as Abra popped out. Two police officers had arrived in a patrol car. One was an athletic woman with short red hair and the other was a tall, muscular man with blonde hair. The woman's hair seemed to have streaks of other colors in it which Monty thought was unusual for a cop. Also of note was the strange scar on the man's left cheek.

"Ah, right on time. The madman is this way," said Monty as he led the cops into the den while scratching a stinging itch on his back. "I may have hit him harder than necessary, but he should be okay."

"This is the man that assaulted you?" the woman asked. She had a strange lilt in her voice, almost as if she were trying to cover a foreign accent. Being a rather tolerant person, Monty did not care but he did now remember that he did not have a chance to call the police. He quickly began calculating the possibilities that a neighbor dialed 911.

"Well, not so much assaulted, more like petty theft," Monty said to stall. His neighbors are all old people who go to sleep early and wake up for nothing. No one could have called so where did these cops come from?

"We will process him," the female cop said. She nodded at the male cop and he lifted Jasper and the chair and carried both out of the house. The female cop followed. Monty took this moment to examine his computer and discovered he had a response from his queries into GeneSys.

Monty hadn't really believed it would work, and if it did he assumed it would lead to a useless third party, but he sent an e-mail to the address of the webmaster for the GeneSys website. There were three responses, two from the webmaster and one from a fake address. The first message read:

_Dear Mr. Smith,_

_In response to your inquiry in regards of the nature of the International Genetic Systems Corporation, Inc. (GeneSys), I would have to ask you why you are so eager to learn about the company. It has been in bankruptcy for several years now and all of its assets were destroyed._

_Unless you have signed a non-disclosure agreement and are in possession of classified GeneSys property, I cannot provide you with the information you requested._

_Sincerely,_

_Matt Deckerd_

_Assistant VP of GeneSys Operations_

The second message was just as useless but stranger because it implied that this "Matt Deckerd" was aware that Monty was occupied and unable to reply. The third message did not have a name attached to it, but was very sinister in nature. The use of phrases like "unauthorized possession of confidential material" and "prosecuted to the fullest extant of all applicable laws" was not comforting.

Out the window, the "police" were putting the guy into a car that was obviously not a local police cruiser. No cop in the state drove a car like that. The two "officers" were heading back to the house giving Monty precious little time to act.

Monty quickly and quietly ran up the stairs to his bedroom. He could hear the "cops" calling for him, calling him by _name_, which very few people around here knew. He opened the window and crawled out onto the roof. From here he could see the criminal that tried to rob him running away. The "cops" did not seem to care as they were entirely focused on what sounded like ransacking Monty's house.

For many years Monty had a curfew imposed upon him and for all that time he was able to break it easily. Having practiced hundreds of times, Monty gracefully leaped from his roof to his neighbor's roof without making a sound. Three houses away from his own, Monty climbed down a tree. Looking back, he could see the two "cops" walking out of his house with some of his stuff. It looked like his computer but it anything was possible today.

Then, the woman's cell phone rang. Monty couldn't hear what was said, but after the conversation ended she nodded at the man and they both came straight for him. Fleeing into the darkness, Monty knew he wouldn't be able to evade them for long. While practically diving into an alley, Monty fell flat on the ground. The nearby loose sewer grate hardly moved as Monty slipped into the dank tunnel. Monty had only a few minutes before the toxic gases overpowered him and he died alone in the sewers. Heading towards the open-top drainage canals, he stepped as carefully as possible. Unfortunately, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. As Monty emerged he took notice of a helicopter hovering just above him.

A voice called out over a megaphone, "Monty Smith! Put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees!"

Monty complied with the instructions and said to himself, "What's the point in finding a creature that can teleport if she never helps you out?"

As if in response, Abra popped in front of Monty. She hugged him tightly and began to teleport out. The strain of moving two people was obvious and Monty thought good thoughts. With little warning, he was engulfed in darkness. The strangest sensation began to spread through Monty. It was like he was being stretched across a vast distance and squished back together. This happened multiple times until the darkness broke and once more Monty was surrounded by light.

This time it was the simple glow of a streetlamp instead of the blinding spotlight of a police helicopter. Abra was visibly distressed after the teleport and nearly collapsed in Monty's arms. Having little medical knowledge Monty was only able to offer comfort. However they did not have more than a few minutes before the helicopter came back into sight and the two "cops" came running down the street.

Monty picked Abra up and started running. The image of a bed appeared in Monty's mind and he knew it was Abra telling him she needed rest. He asked if she could teleport herself to safety and she responded with an affirmative. "Then go," Monty said, "I can hold them off." Abra began sending him good thoughts and happy memories to tell him that she preferred to stay with him. "No, it's too dangerous." A single tear appeared as Abra popped away from Monty for the last time.

August 23, 2012; 11:45PM CDT;  
Time Until Death: 15 Minutes

Monty was captured by the two "cops" and put on the helicopter. As it took off he was sedated. Upon regaining consciousness, he was in a dark room and chained to a table. The woman with red hair and the blonde man with the scar where sitting on the other side of the table. "Ah, you are awake," the woman said. Now her accent was clear. She was Russian but almost too Russian, like a Bond villain. "So, you think you can run from police? You think you can conceal vital evidence in an ongoing investigation?"

"You know, I never saw a badge," Monty said.

She got right in his face and said, "You know, you are toying vith wrong person." The blonde man started playing with a knife at this point. "Now tell me what you know before I let my companion have his way vith you."

"All right, I'll tell you every single thing I know. A long, long time ago, the universe began. Scientists speculate that it started as a small-" Monty started before being interrupted by a punch to the face.

The woman's phone rang and she answered it in Russian. The few Russian phrases Monty knew ('Where is the restroom?', 'I'm not a capitalist pig, I swear!', and 'How much for a wife? That's a real bargain!') were not enough to help him understand the conversation but the tone of her voice was harried. Afterwords, she spoke to the blonde man in what sounded like German. Finally, she said to Monty in English, "We will leave for time being. Your friend has been found," and the two of them left.

Monty now noticed that the table had several folders on it and most notably several paperclips. Being a decent lock picker, Monty was easily able to open the single cuff on his right hand. He went to the door and dropped to the floor. Looking through the gap he searched for anyone nearby. Upon opening the door, Monty realized he was in one of two rooms facing a hallway. At the far end of the hall was a door with a window. Once outside, Monty knew where he was. He recognized the construction site on the edge of town and was glad no one was in sight but shouldn't there be some guards?

"Hey!" one of the guards shouted, "Stop where you are!" Monty turned and ran while thinking, _Oh, there they are._

After rounding the corner of the small trailer Monty heard a bullet ricochet. As he began climbing the nearby fence he heard another. After landing in the narrow passage between two fences a third and fourth bullet landed nearby along with several more shouts. Finally, while running out of the passage and into a small wooded grove, a fifth bullet hit Monty in the middle of his back. After falling to the ground several more bullets were fired in various directions but Monty couldn't hear them anymore.

It was now, in his final moments, that Monty began to reminisce. He remembered the time his father taught him how to ride a bike. He remembered the time he had his first kiss. He remembered the time he met his best friends whom he will never see again. He remembered the dogs that always bark at him. He remembered the girl he met earlier today but her name would not come to his mind. She was the most beautiful girl in the whole world. And then he could not remember anything but the searing pain of a bullet in his heart.

If Monty could still interpret sounds he would have noticed the popping sound Abra makes when she teleports. If Monty could still interpret touch he would have felt Abra's three-fingered hands on his five-fingered hands. If Monty could still interpret sight he would have seen the strange glow coming from Abra. However, he did notice when the glow spread over to himself.

The definition of the word _evolution_ is a "change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species". In the Pokémon world, evolution is a rapid alteration of genetic composition producing an instantaneous change in both appearance and capabilities resulting in a more powerful version of an individual creature. During the process the Pokémon glows white and the matter composing it is altered and molded into the new form.

In a convenient error the genetically engineered Pokémon, specifically this Abra, possessed a flaw in its genome. This flaw manifested during evolution where instead of altering only the Pokémon's body the process can alter other bodies as well. In this case, Abra and Monty evolved from two weakened creatures into one new creature. This Pokémon-human hybrid awoke fully developed and ready for a fight.

The creature stood in darkness and readied itself. The guards reached the edge of illumination from their spotlights and were hesitant. "I'm pretty sure I got him," one of them said, "so he couldn't be far." The two guards stuck close together as they moved through the darker areas searching for a body. The creature could maneuver through space without even twitching a muscle. There was nothing but a small popping noise each time, which did nothing to put the guards at ease.

The creature could feel undulating waves of energy flowing through its body. Holding its hand out in the air and concentrating, a blast of psychic power rippled outwards and a nearby tree shook from roots to leaves. The guards stopped their search. They split-up and circled around to the still waving tree. Both of them passed within inches of the creature without seeing it.

As they passed, the creature became aware of their thoughts. Both of them were afraid. As they reached the tree they almost shot each other. Before they could recover from that shock, the creature sent a blast of energy into their minds to alter their perception. In their confusion, the guards began attacking not only each other, but the tress and the grass.

Satisfied that they posed no more threat, the creature fled. Focusing all its thoughts on a safe place, the creature teleported away. After what seemed an eternity in nothingness, the creature arrived at the old GeneSys warehouse and collapsed onto the floor.

August 24, 2012; 12:13AM CDT;  
Time Until Death: Approximately 800,000 Minutes

Monty Smith awoke in a strange place. It was as if his thoughts and ideas had manifested as physical constructs. There were buildings, fields, mountains, ravines, lakes, hills, and anything else Monty had ever imagined. This was Monty Smith's mind. But there was something out of place. A vague and disconcerting presence. Searching around a quaint little village Monty found a fracture in the landscape beyond which was an incredibly disturbing region. Composed of concepts and viewpoints the likes of which Monty could not comprehend, the other side of the fracture could only be foreign.

It was then that she arrived. Kadabra, the evolved form of Abra, was standing in the foreign region, she began to talk through telepathy. The first thing she said was, "Hello Monty."

"What's going on? Where am I?" Monty asked.

"To answer your first question: you were shot and near death. The only way to save you was to, uh, evolve with you."

"Wait, you mean... what?"

"I could not explain it too you before but I was born in a laboratory. I was created to match the specifications of the fictional creature called 'Abra'."

"I gathered as much. My question is more along the lines of what do you mean by 'evolved _with_ me'?"

"A flaw in the genome was mentioned by the scientists. The evolution process was dangerous because sometimes two Pokémon would combine into a strangely deformed creature."

"So you tried to save my life by evolving with me?"

"Thus creating a single physical person from our two bodies."

"Huh... it seems strange. I don't remember getting shot..."

"To answer your second question: we are in our mind."

"Right, that makes some sense now. When we merged physically our entire mental states still exist as separate personalities."

"In the conscious creature we have become, these personalities will conflict with each other."

"Well can't you reverse the process? Separate us again?"

"The scientists had not found a way to do that. They decided to try again and to terminate all current projects."

"You mean kill all the Pokémon that had been created with the flaw? Wait a minute, we're stuck like this?"

"Yes and yes."

After a pause where Monty stormed off and came back he said, "So what now?"

"Well, as I said our personalities will conflict with each other so long as the creature is awake. We have to find a way to combine our minds into one joined personality. Once this is done..."

"We will both cease to exist."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience but it was the only way to keep you alive. In a way."

"Yeah... I guess..." Monty said as he sat in deep thought.

Kadabra waited as long as she could before saying, "Please, I don't know how long we will remain unconscious."

Monty sighed but agreed. "Alright, what do we do?"

Kadabra reached out and Monty, after one last look at his own little world, took her hand. A bright light exploded all around them and soon neither one remained. The dual landscapes were destroyed and in their place was a new world, a realm all of its own.

The creature that was once Monty and Kadabra awoke with a shock. Breathing heavily, it stood up and brushed itself off. The creature could remember many things about the past but knew it never actually experienced them. The creature could clearly remember being Monty Smith and learning to ride a bike from his father or having his first kiss under a willow tree. The creature could also remember the painful experiments Abra went through in a laboratory.

So the creature examined itself to discover who it was. Its overall body size and shape was similar to Monty Smith but its hands, feet, and head resembled Kadabra. Also of note was his large and puffy tail. The creature's mind began to settle and it could determine many new things, chiefly that it was male. But what to do now?

The creature stood up and tried to focus on Monty Smith's house. The distance was over two miles and the teleport took an almost endless amount of time. The creature was very tired but did not pass out this time. His powers were weak and uncontrollable. He thought he must find a way to harness the psychic energies and almost instinctively he thought of a spoon.

Searching the closet for something new to wear, the creature decided it needed a name. It was once called Kadabra and Monty so it would now be called by both names: Kamondabray. Having decided on a name, Kamondabray searched harder for a robe he knew Monty had. It was once a Halloween costume but it was a well made Grim Reaper style robe that would easily cover Kamondabray's less than human face in public. He also picked up a spoon from his kitchen. While holding it, Kamondabray could focus his psychic energy much better.

Kamondabray thought about himself, an anomaly, a dead man brought back as creature. He wondered aloud, "What happens now?"


End file.
